Best Cities for Biking

[HillSlugger]

According to an article in today's Washington Post travel section the best cities for biking in are (in no particular order):

New York City, NY
Denver, CO
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Davis, CA
Boulder, CO
Tucson, AZ
Madison, WI
Chicago, IL
Austin, TX
Philadelphia, PA

I think this is based mostly on the amount and quality of the bike trails, but it's not very clear from the article what criteria were used. Anyway, I thought that some might find this interesting.

[Kalidurga]

The March 2006 issue of Bicycling magazine included a similar feature of the 21 best. Most of the cities you listed are in the Bicycling list, but Bicycling also included:

San Diego, CA
Albuquergue, NM (How many TE'ers do we have around there?)
Eugene, OR
Ann Arbor, MI

After reading that article, I really, really wanted to move to Oregon ;)

[Kitsune06]

Eugene is utterly fantastic for both pedestrians and bikers. I lived there a year from a car and thought "This isn't the pretty city I thought I knew..." ...then sold the car. The transformation of the city as a whole was magnificent. We lived on the Millrace near Glenwood, and from there, could take a little back road to a bike trail that stretched all the way through campus to downtown, and bike trails from there completely circumvented the city to take us to Springfield (Gateway) or to the other mall (I forget the name...) but it was fantastic. Even biking in the city was nice, with all the trees downtown, etc, there were never the big, long open stretches I see here... =P

Such a pity the job market in Eugene is so poor. I'd do anything to live there again...

[kelownagirl]

Of course, they never name Canadian cities... :)

Here are two to add to the list:

Victoria, BC - Awesome paved and unpaved trails that run through the entire city. (Galloping Goose (55+km) and Lochside Trail are both wonderful, safe trails.


Kelowna, BC - Supposedly the most bike lanes for its size. I certainly enjoy riding here. TONS of MTbike trails too.

[Cassandra_Cain]

Albuquerque in da house :)

I think this is a great town to ride in. The city itself is laced with bike paths, bike routes. There is plenty of awareness and the pace of life here is moderate when compared to the big cities - so that helps a bit on the road.

Not only that but you get the benefit of training at altitude....umpteenth big mountain climbs less than an hour away (on a bike)....tons of sun.....mild weather.

I've also ridden a good bit in Miami & Tampa Bay, FL - Chicago, IL - Toronto, Ontario - and Spain. Miami was the worst by far for riding (with tampa a close second), a day did not pass when I escaped the shouts/insults of motorists on my commute. Chicago has some sections I liked, but it a busy town which is to expected for a city of millions - and look out for winter! Spain is a whole other animal altogether.

[Lenusik]

Well, maybe NYC is good for something but not for riding unless you are interested in being killed. But that's just my opinion.

Oregon in general is great! Tucson, AZ is wonderful especially now when the weather is getting so pleasant.

[BigRingB*tch]

Well, maybe NYC is good for something but not for riding unless you are interested in being killed. But that's just my opinion.

Oregon in general is great! Tucson, AZ is wonderful especially now when the weather is getting so pleasant.

Tucson, AZ is a nice place for riding:D! Yes, I'm being a bit partial since I live here. You just can't beat the weather all year round! I feel for the riders in the winter time that have to battle the freezing cold, snow, sleet, hail, etc.

[winddance]

Such a pity the job market in Eugene is so poor. I'd do anything to live there again...

A friend of mine is a real estate investor, and he said that they are building a giant hospital in Springfield, which will create a lot of jobs. He just purchased a house there.

I always thought Eugene was a great place to have a bike *stolen*... ;)

[Kitsune06]

...that too. ;)

The hospital will create new jobs by itself, but it'll still leave a lot of folks uncovered (admin folks like me with no official schooling, etc)

oh well...

[pyxichick]

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/images/index-1.jpg

This is what our bike trails look like in the city of Minneapolis. I can go out my door and ride a block to this trail and then go for a two hour ride and never have to worry about traffic the whole way.

I don't know why we didn't make the cut, but all I have to say is wow, those cities on the list must have some really fabulous cycling!:)

[NJBikeGal]

Philly made the list, eh? Woo-Hoo!! Interesting...as I cringe every time I see a courier on the roads in the city. I'm sure it's ranked because of the areas around the city...great for riding.

To add my own opinion to the list...I would have to say Fort Collins, CO. What a great city and so bike friendly it's amazing. Literally a bike rack on every corner and 15 in between!! Everyone rides their bikes around town, and you always see pacelines heading out of town toward the mountains. My sister lives there, and I would love to spend a month out there training! :)

[aicabsolut]

[IMG]
This is what our bike trails look like in the city of Minneapolis. I can go out my door and ride a block to this trail and then go for a two hour ride and never have to worry about traffic the whole way.

Looking at that picture---wow. I must visit my friend in Minneapolis. Nice trail.

[Bike Goddess]

When I last visited Minneapolis, I was sorry I didn't have my road bike. Great area for cycling and running as well!

San Francisco? Well, depends on where you ride. My experience has been riding from the ferry bldg to GG bridge. Not fun as we had to go through heavy traffic. I'm not sure what they mean, except for Presidio, GG Park, and the beach area.

[Aggie_Ama]

According to an article in today's Washington Post travel section the best cities for biking in are (in no particular order):

New York City, NY
Denver, CO
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Davis, CA
Boulder, CO
Tucson, AZ
Madison, WI
Chicago, IL
Austin, TX
Philadelphia, PA

I think this is based mostly on the amount and quality of the bike trails, but it's not very clear from the article what criteria were used. Anyway, I thought that some might find this interesting.

I wouldn't think Austin would be based on the quality of road riding. The best riding area has had two fatalities this year. We usually don't go into Austin, the quiet area northwest of town is great though. Maybe the fact that you can drive 20-30 minutes to great cycling is one of the reasons or maybe it is just because Lance lives here. There are some decent trails, nothing like the Minneapolis picture.

[Tri Girl]

Minneapolis looks so beautiful to bike in! Just wouldn't want to live there in the winter time- eeeeee ouch! :eek:
Wow- you mean there really are places where bike trails are abundant and people have awareness???? Ahhhh...to dream of such a land! Ok, OKC isn't bad, as we have a new river trail system and good paths at the lake. In fact, you can head out into the country and ride forever on country roads. You just have to carry 3 gallons of fluids, and only have to worry about rednecks and potholes out there....
I'd love to take my bike to Colorado and play up there for a while!

[Geonz]

It all boils down to what the criteria were! There is serious contention about what defines a "bike-friendly" city. www.labreform.org has a lot of discussion about the League of American Bicyclists' program and takes issue with definitions that are based on how much money is put into basically any project in the name of cycling... which would include some of the stuff around here, say, which are so definitely designed by automobile-centered folks who want the bikers out of the way and out of sight, but not safer or any more able to get to a destination. Lots of money on bike paths in a few parts of town wouldn't make it bike *culture* friendly.

[Bikingmomof3]

Geonz,
It sounds like will live in very similar areas.

[Geonz]

I'm hoping people are educable; Urbana is affectionately called the "people's republic of urbana" because it leans to the left and tends to try to be friendly to the planet and that sort of thing. There are lots of efforts happening now to "involve the citizenry" (much hot air and not sure it's actually connected to *anything* real except a reason to pay consultants to facilitate meetings), and several of the consultants have been taken aback at the disparity between the number of cyclists, the number of people who have expressed a strong desire for at least the concept of a "bike-friendly" place (but most of them think that means bike paths, bike paths, bike paths) and the relative lack of facilities or support for cycling and pedestrian transportation; the population density and personalities would seem to support it.
But hey, let's see where we are in five years. Thursday we were talkin' about trying to be another Madison :-)

[Maureen Valley]

I have to add my 2 cents in endorsing Minneapolis as a primo biking city. The inner city lakes alone (Lakes Harriet, Lake of the Isles and Calhoun) are worth the price of admission. They're all connected. There is a rock solid biking community in Minneapolis and in the surrounding area and the outlying countryside offers some of the best rolling hills ever for the serious road biker.

The downside is the brutality of winter. But...I used to ride my mountain bike in the snow along Mississippi River Boulevard for miles and miles. The only danger was that occasional patch of ice under fresh snow and KABOOM...down I'd go.

T'isn't for the frail or the weak of heart. I'm now in sunny, but flat Florida. It's an entirely different biking world down here.

Best to all:
Maureen

[seychelle]

I know this thread is old, but had to put in my 0.02 cents about Tampa. ;) Riding on roads sucks in Tampa (this from a runner, not a cyclist, but based on my observations), however, there are lots of bike paths with no car traffic that I hope to use once I finally buy the bike:

Suncoast Trail (41.3 mi one way) http://outdoortravels.com/biking_fl_overview_suncoast.html
Pinellas Trail (34 mi one way) http://www.pinellascounty.org/trailgd/
Upper Tampa Bay Trail (8 mi one way) http://outdoortravels.com/biking_fl_overview_uppertampabaytrail.html

There are plans to connect all of the above trails.

There's also Wilderness Park http://outdoortravels.com/biking_fl_overview_wildernesspark.html These trails are great for running too by the way.

There are lots of other areas within driving distance that are good for cycling.

[CyclChyk]

Eugene is utterly fantastic for both pedestrians and bikers. I lived there a year from a car and thought "This isn't the pretty city I thought I knew..." ...then sold the car. The transformation of the city as a whole was magnificent. We lived on the Millrace near Glenwood, and from there, could take a little back road to a bike trail that stretched all the way through campus to downtown, and bike trails from there completely circumvented the city to take us to Springfield (Gateway) or to the other mall (I forget the name...) but it was fantastic. Even biking in the city was nice, with all the trees downtown, etc, there were never the big, long open stretches I see here... =P

My dearest friend since I was 14 got married and moved this year to Eugene. She did not know that I had taken up cycling this summer and when I was asking her how it was in Eugene she started "fussing" about the biking life and how the city has "overly accomidated" cyclists. Needless to say I set her straight as I am now one of those cycling activists.

Ever since that conversation I have had a serious itch to go visit and check it out for myself. If it wasn't for the snow and lack of jobs I think I could be tempted to move.....